Telemeter-rod.



G. E. PLANGAN.

TELEMETER ROD. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 3, 1909.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

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ATTDRNEY'.

G Q M O N u. l."

WITNEsss:

ANDREW. i GRAHAM ce.. Puuro-umqGRAPHERs. wAsnmercn. u c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFETE.

CHARLES E. FLANAGAN, OF STEUBENVLI'JE, OHI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0ISAAC 1V[. SCOTT, 0F STEUBENVILLE, OHIO.

rELEiviErEB-ROD.

asaisa Specification of Letters-Patent.

PatentedyNov. 9, 1909.

Application filed March 3,1909. ,Serial No. 481,124.

io all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. FLANA- GAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and resident of Steubenville, county of Jefferson,and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements inTelemeterfltods, `of which the following is a specification. Y

rlhis invention relates to a distance-computing device, and moreyparticularly to a combined telemeter and leveling-rod. j

The primary object of the invention is to provide a distance-measuringinstrument adapted for surveyors use by means of which the rodinan may,Without mathematical computation, accurately read the distance betweenthe point at which the instrument is located and the surveyors transit.Y

A. further object is to provide an extremely simple and inexpensivedevice of the character mentioned which may be used as an ordinaryleveling-rod. j

`With these and other objects in view, the invention finally consists inthe particular construction, arrangement and combination of parts whichwillhereinafter be fully described, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming a ypart of this specification, in which-Vi v Figure 1 is a front elevation of the rod; Fig. 2 is an enlargedfront elevation of a portion of said rod, showing the graduationsthereon; F ig. 3 is a. top plan view of said rod, illustratingV thefolding feature thereof; Figli is a front elevation of a broken porvtion of the rod mounted on a tripod ;V Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 4L; and- F ig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Fig. 2.

Referring to said drawing, in which like reference-charactersdistinguish "like vparts throughout the several views-1 indicates a rodwhich is preferablyabout ten feet in length and which, for conveniencein han-- dling when not in actual use, is composed of two sectionshinged together at 2. Said rod is adapted to be mounted; uin horizontalposition on a tripod 3, or other support, a spiritlevel et beingprovided in the upper edge of the rod for facilitating the leveling ofthe latter.

Rigidly mounted upon the upper and lower edges of the rod adjacent toone end thereof are plates 5 and 6 which project rearward beyond therear face of the rod, as

shown, each plate having a vvertically-disposed terminal wing 7 providedwith a narrow vertical slot or sight aperture 8, the purpose l of whichwill presently be made app parent.v

' Mounted upon said rod in any appro- Vpriate manner is a slidabletarget 9 which, j inthe present instance, has a pair ofoppositely-dsposed tongues 10 for traveling in grooves 1l provided inthe upper and lower edges of the rod. -A spring catch 12 is adapted fornormally holdingsaid target in initial position at the line 13 on saidrod which represents zero in the readings.

rlhe face of the rod has thereon three sets of graduations, thatadjacentto the upper edge being a scale of rods'divided into tenths andnumberinglffrom 0 to 320 (the latter number not shown), and thatadjacent to lserves to here illustrate the use of the device.

In practice, when the rodman plants his instrument at a distance fromthetransit, he levelsthe rod 1 and turns thersame at direct right angles tothe transitmans line of vision, or until the slots 14 in the wings 15 ofthe target 9 register in the said line of visionwith the slots 8 in thewings 7. The transitman sights the telescope of his transit at saidslots, making note of the angle, after which he turns his telescopefiveminutes to the right. The rodman then moves the target along the roduntil the slots again appear directly in the transitmans line of visionthrough the telescope; then, using the verniermarkings on the bevelededge 16 of the upper horizontal member 9a of the target, he readsdirectly from the rod the distance in rods between the transit and therodv 1, or target; or, using the Vernier on the beveled edge 17ofthelower horizontal member 9", he reads the distance in feet. Thereading of distance'between the transit and the target, indicated by theposition of the target in Fig. 2, is 4.0 rods, or 660 feet. Thetransitman may also readily determine the distance, and thereby keep anaccurate check on the rodmans readings, in various ways, an illustrationof one of which will suffice: A sight is rst taken at the zero mark 13on the rod, then a second sight is taken at the 5280 foot mark or lineon the rod, said mark or line bein indicated by the numeral 18 in Fig. 1of the drawing. By dividing the number 26400 by the number of minutes inthe angle traversed in the movement of the transit telescope from theiirst to the second position, the distance in feet between the transitand the target will be accurately determined.

As is obvious, the use of the tripod for supporting the rod l may bedispensed with in cases where an accurate vertical are is provided onthe transit, the rod l in such case being held in a vertical positioninstead of a horizontal position.

The middle row or set of Vgraduatiens on the face of the rod is a scaleof feet divided into hundredths and readable to thousandths of a foot,by means of the Vernier markings on the beveled edge 19 of the middlehorizontal member 9 of the target, this set of graduations beingemployed as on an ordinary leveling-rod.

For causing the two sections of the rod to stand rigid when in extendedposition, the adjacent ends of the sections are undercut and caused tooverlap, as shown, and a stud 20 carried by one section adjacent to theend of the undercut portion thereof projects through an aperture 2lprovided therefor in the other section, said stud having a pivotedcross-bar22 thereon adapted to be turned into interlocking engagementwith the rear face of the last-mentioned section.

When the two sections of the rod are folded together, the sectionopposite to that which carries the plates 5 and 6 fits snugly in thepocket formed between the rearwardly extended portions of said plates,and lateral displacement of said sections is thereby1 prevented.

While the tripod 3 may be of any appropriate construction adapted forsupporting the rod, that illustrated in Figs. t and 5 is preferredbecause of the relative simplicity of its rod-holding head, said headconsisting of a substantially U-shaped springmetal rod-receiving clama23 the opposite members of which may 1be readily drawn into clampingengagement with the rod by manipulation of a thumb-nut 24 carried uponthe threaded end of a bolt 25 passed vertically through said members.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I provide an extremely simple,inexpensive and eiiicient device of the character mention'ed, by meansof which civil engineers and others may readily and accurately determinedistances without. calculations of any kind being` rendered necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A telemeter rod consisting of a rod having a plurality of sets ofgraduations in different units arranged longitudinally thereon, and amovable target having a plurality of horizontal members with Verniermarkings thereon registering with all of said sets of graduations.

2. A telemeter rod consisting of a rod having a plurality of sets ofgraduations in diiierent units arranged longitudinally thereon, and atarget slidably mounted on said rod and having vernier markingsregistering with all of said sets of graduations.

3. A telemeter rod consisting of a target pole having a plurality ofsets of graduations in diii'erent units thereon, a plate lixed upon saidpole and having a sight-aperture therein, a target movably mounted uponsaid pole and having a sight-aperture therein adapted to be brought intoregister with the aperture in said plate and also having a plurality ofsets of if'ernier markings adapted to register with all of said sets ofgraduations.

l. A telemeter rod consisting of a rod haiing a plurality of sets ofgraduations in different units thereon, a fixed plate carried by saidrod, a movable target farried by said rod, indicating means carried bysaid target registering with all of said sets of graduations, said plateand said target having sightapertures therein whereby said rod may beaccurately adjusted at right angles to a distant telescopes line ofvision.

5. ln a device of the character described, a rod composed of two hingedsections, a pair of metal plates carried by opposite sides of onesection and projecting outward therefrom to form a pocket for thereception of the other section when the rod is folded, integral wingshaving sight-apertures therein standing at right angles to each of saidplates, and a target slidably mounted on said rod.

In testimony whereof l atlix my signature in presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

CHARLES E. FLANAGAN.

lVitnesses E. A. LENKARD, H. E. DUNLAP.

